Sunday, April 30, 2017

Hello lovelies! It gives me
great pleasure today to host Inés Saint and her new book, “Good Gracie”!

Be sure to make it to the
end of this post to enter to win some exciting prizes like a print copy of her
featured book, “Good Gracie,” and a $5 Amazon Gift Card!! See below for more details. Also, come back daily to interact with Inés
and to increase your chances of winning!

Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!

Good Gracie

by Inés Saint

Pub. Date: 4/11/2017

Genre: Contemporary
Romance

Spinning Hills, Ohio, home of the third most haunted street in
the state, is the perfect place for three sisters to banish the unhappy
specters of their pasts—and to let romance cast its spell…

Gracie
Piper is good at being invisible, and she likes it that way. At just seventeen,
she took a very public stand against the boy who passed a revealing video of
her all over school. Ever since, she’s staked her life on staying out of the
limelight. But when she moves back to Spinning Hills, she comes face to face
with her painful past. In the same historic building Gracie’s boss has assigned
her to supervise renovating works the man who helped her find justice nine
years ago, and nearly lost his own career in the process. A man who suddenly
arouses feelings that make Gracie weak in the knees…

Josh Goodwin is sure he’s
seeing a ghost when he spots Gracie in the halls of his office building. Taking
her case was a professional risk that became all too personal when a bitter ex
accused him of getting involved with teenage Gracie. Seeing her again is
opening old wounds, and threatening brand-new ones—his campaign for County
Prosecutor won’t withstand a brand-new scandal. But there’s something about
sweet, gorgeous Gracie that brings out the crusader in him—and the thing he’ll
fight hardest for is her love…

“We won the contract for
the Daytona-Montgomery County courts Building, and we want you to be the lead workplace designer on
the project.”

The
words had been on a constant loop in Gracie’s head. The first half of the
sentence tugged her feelings one way and the second half pulled them in the
opposite direction. One tiny comma separated a nightmare and a dream. One small
word united them.

She’d
been working hard to land lead on a project of this magni- tude. She hoped to
own her own small workplace design business someday, and this would be an
important learning experience. It was a challenge that, when all else was
pushed aside, had both her left and right brain in a constant buzz of
excitement and anticipation. Using both her creativity and technical expertise
to optimize and har- monize workspace for eleven judges, the county prosecutor,
and all court employees across multiple divisions, each with its own purpose
and challenges. Functional, yet attractive and sustainable ideas that would
enhance the life, productivity, and culture of the workers came to her day and
night.

But
whenever her thoughts necessarily turned to the actual build- ing in front of
her, her stomach became heavy with dread. The coin- cidence involved defied
logic. The building was home to records of her case against one of the area’s
most prominent families—and to the man who’d been her champion.

The
man whose life she’d unwittingly changed forever. All for taking up her case
and her cause.

He
didn’t resent her for it. That much she was sure of. Josh Good- win had a fair
and just core, the depth of which she hadn’t fully appreciated and understood
at the time. There had been no room for anything but gratitude that someone
outside her family was fighting with and for her. But there was no way he could
remember the experience with anything but the same dread she felt. Not after
the way he’d been portrayed and everything he’d lost . . .

Tomorrow
she had no choice but to take on both the project and the memories. Tonight,
she’d take the first step on her own, with no one watching her.

Josh
Goodwin sat at his desk, reading through incident reports and files the
sheriff’s office had sent over, and making notes to re- quest additional
information before making decisions as to whether they’d file, dismiss, or
bargain.

A
fourteen-year-old had brought a gun to school and hidden it in his locker. The
file was short. Many questions arose and he made notes.

The
next file was thicker. A sixteen-year-old star athlete had been caught with
drugs in his car. He had a big-shot lawyer at Josh’s father’s firm. The lawyer
had filed a motion to have the case dismissed . . . which meant that dinner
with his parents’ later that week would be un- comfortable. It took discipline
not to close his eyes and shake his head when he read the particulars of the
case, but reserving judgment until he’d listened to all parties involved was
the fair route.

The
last file, an ongoing investigation, darkened his day. A well- known, local
businessman’s son was being investigated for murdering his stepmom. There was
evidence to suggest the boy’s father had put him up to it when he’d discovered
his wife was having an affair. Time and time again, jealousy and feelings of
betrayal enraged and darkened the human mind and heart, turning people into
monsters. The evidence against the father, Max Parker, was strong, but it was
circumstantial. Josh had taken it on because he had a special passion for cases
involving injustice to minors—those were the cases he’d
cut his teeth on.

He
leaned back, shut down his feelings, and thought about every- thing in each
file before making a few more notes. When he was done, he threw his sports coat
over his arm, locked up his office, and made his way down to the first-floor
lobby. He needed to decide where exactly he’d be holding his press conference
tomorrow.

When
he walked off the elevator, a motion to his right caught his attention. He
glanced over and caught sight of a figure taking off at a run. Security in the
building was tight enough, but the fact that someone was running down a hallway
at such a late hour was odd. Josh sighed and decided to follow.

When
he got to the short hallway, there was no one there. He walked slowly, taking
everything in. There were three doors and they were all shut, as they should
be. He peered into each window and tried the handles one by one. They were all
dark and they were all locked.

Only
one door remained: a supply closet at the end of the hall- way. Aware that his
dress shoes were clicking, Josh walked back to the elevator, slipped his shoes
off, and made his way quietly back down the hallway and to the closet again.

“I
know you’re there.” A muffled, female voice came from inside the closet a few
seconds later. “And I know you think I’m up to no good and that you have some
sort of moral responsibility to figure out what I’m up to, but I assure you I’m
here to work. Please just leave.”

Josh
rolled his eyes heavenward. Seriously? Only a teenager would ask an adult to
take her word for something and leave her alone. And yet the words had been
very adultlike. “I can’t leave until you show yourself and tell me exactly who
you are and what you’re doing here.”

“Can
we find a way for you to put your mind at ease that doesn’t involve me opening
the door?”

Josh
raked a hand through his hair. He’d been in plenty of un- usual situations. It
came with the job. But this—this was new. And absurd. It had to be a teen, and
maybe the teen was in trouble. “Why don’t you want to come out?”

“I’m
busy.”

“Are
you one of our courthouse ghosts?” he asked. Humor some- times did the trick
with kids.

Silence.
“Yes.”

It
was a pitiful and honest yes. Josh was silent for a moment, too. Whoever was
behind the door had something to hide, but he’d bet his career she wasn’t a
menace. Still, it was his duty to get to the bottom of whatever was going on.
Some leader he would be if he simply left. “Look, there’s no lock on this door.
Nothing has prevented me from opening it. I’ve been trying to give you a
chance, and I hope that shows you that you have nothing to fear from me. But
it’s my responsibility to open this door and find out what’s going on.”

The
door abruptly swung open and Josh instinctively moved to the side. He peered in
and went cold all over. All he could do was stare.

It
was a ghost.

As
much as she’d done to change her appearance, Gracie knew he instantly
recognized her. Everything about him registered shock. It was as if he was
frozen in place. She swallowed hard but was unable to get past the lump in her
throat. He looked exactly the way she re- membered him—spiky and mussed-up
brown hair, sparkling dark eyes, and a handsome face. Tall. An athletic build
that filled out his fitted suit. He looked the same, but her reaction was new.
A jolt of heat infused her from head to toe the instant she looked at him.
Embarrassment, most likely.

She
hesitated before saying, “Hello, Mr. Goodwin.” The title Mr. sounded strange to
her ears. He looked almost her age, though she knew he was a little over seven
years older.

He’d
been twenty-four and she’d been seventeen when they’d first met nine years ago.
He, fresh out of law school. She, a high school senior.

“Gracie
Piper.”

She
pushed her glasses up and avoided his eyes. “Actually, I go by Grace Dearborn
now.” It was imperative they got that straight.

She
forced herself to glance at him again. He’d straightened, but he was still
staring. “What are you doing hiding in a closet?” he finally asked.

Something
in her bristled. Not at him but at herself. She hadn’t been prepared to see
him, but it wouldn’t do to start off on unequal footing. She was twenty-six.
She was a professional. And she’d been caught hiding in a closet.

Pushing
past her reluctance to speak, she took a quick, deep breath and gathered her
wits to start afresh. “Surely you’re aware of the extensive remodeling project
that will begin here in three months? The firm I work for, Midwest Workplace
Design, is in charge, and I’m the lead workplace designer.” She turned and
pretended to study the closet. “I’m—I’m checking everything out. Including the
closets.” “Workplace designer, huh,” he stated with a short nod. “Creative yet
logical. It fits. I wondered how you’d find something that utilized all your
talents.” Not yet ready to face Josh’s intrinsic kindness, she merely shrugged
a little. “And you’ve been checking out the supply closet this entire time?” he
continued.

When
she chanced another glance at him, he was wearing a play- ful smile. Another
thunderbolt hit her, and this time it left her breath- less. That was new, too.
And it hadn’t been embarrassment. Fear, maybe? No, she could never fear Josh. .
. .

She
straightened her shoulders, hoping to look confident. “There’s a lot to
consider. People don’t want to waste valuable time when they come in here looking
for supplies. Organization should be logical. The most-often-used necessities
should be easiest to both find and access, preferably at eye level . . .” she
went on, repeating things she’d heard a closet organizer they worked with say,
before finally trailing off and clearing her throat.

Everything
she was feeling was awareness, she admitted with a sinking feeling. Something
she hadn’t felt in years but she remem- bered well. For her, it would forever
be entwined with deep, devas- tating feelings of betrayal and distrust. Their
eyes met and she took a step back. He must’ve noted it because his smile
faltered and he took a step back, too. “You can come out, Gracie.”

Correcting
him once more didn’t feel as important as it usually did. Gracie sounded okay coming
from him. The way it still sounded good coming from family. Josh Goodwin had
been honorable. One of the few men she knew she could trust, even though she
hadn’t seen him in years. Maybe that was what her awareness was about. Eternal
feelings of gratitude. Plus, seeing him again was unsettling, though not
unexpected. But as her internal reasoning rambled on, her still-sinking stomach
told her that wasn’t all there was to it.

It
was all too much for her to try to figure out right there and then. She stepped
out and caught the quick, up-and-down glance he gave her, and it made her take
stock of what she looked like. Pale blond hair done up in a stylish yet
no-nonsense bun. Olive pencil skirt. Low-heeled, knee-high boots. Off-white,
fashionably bulky sweater. Peach-colored frames on her trendy glasses. Nude
makeup. Fashion- able enough to look like she could fit the creative role she
played, but nondescript enough to fade away and not draw attention.

“Who
are you hiding from, Gracie?” he asked, looking straight into her eyes. There
was warmth there. And she couldn’t handle it.

“I’m
hiding from disruptions,” she answered and began walking down the hallway ahead
of him, a mistake that left her feeling awkward and exposed. “I’m taking
everything in. Silence and stillness is a must. Tomorrow my team and I will
start observing everyone at work and begin asking questions so we can
incorporate everyone’s needs into the design. Tonight, I needed to be alone.”
She came to a stop at the end of the hallway and cast him a quick,
over-the-shoulder glance, to see if he’d caught the small hint. It was obvious
he had, but there was now pity in his eyes. Her cheeks heated up.

Josh
set down his briefcase while he shrugged into his light coat. She was
dismissing him and it was just as well. They were both un- comfortable.

Gracie,
on the eve of his announcement. It was a worst-case sce- nario. The case that
had defined his career had also almost derailed it, thanks to the lies and
vitriol of both the people Gracie had been up against and the important people
Josh had defied: a group he had once belonged to. It always brought up mixed
feelings. Gratitude that he’d been saved from a meaningless life but also the
sickening feel- ing that justice and honesty didn’t always win.

When
Gracie turned to him, he was again taken aback by how much she’d changed—or
rather, how much her experience must’ve changed her. I’m hiding from
disruptions . . .

A ghost of the girl she’d once been. She’d even
changed her last name. He picked up his briefcase again and stretched his right
arm out to shake her hand. “I don’t know what to say. It’s nice to meet you,
Grace Dearborn. We sorely need the renovations and updates your firm has been
hired to do. But I’d like to talk to Gracie Piper someday to find out how she
wound up where she is. I often wonder about her, you know.” And with that, he
turned and left.

DIY Romance

A few years into our marriage, my husband and I
discovered we really enjoy working on small projects together. Neither of us is
handy or crafty, but we always have a lot of fun figuring things out. In fact,
I think it’s because neither one of us is great at what we’re doing that we
enjoy the process. He’s a research scientist, I’m a writer, and our approach to
projects is completely different. But somehow we get things done. It’s so easy
to get caught up in routines and to stop thinking about the teamwork that goes
into making our lives work... But when we work on something new together, we’re
once again humbled, appreciative, and amused by the other’s thought process. It
makes our relationship feel like our projects; something old made new again.
Here are before and after pics of a small project we completed a few years ago.
The previous owners of our house left a rotted, rusty bench behind. We used
some wood that was also left behind and then cut, sanded, painted, and put it
all together. Our recycled bench was far from perfect, but we had a lot of fun
working on it. For the few years it lasted, whenever we sat on it together, we
felt close in more ways than one. When it fell apart right under us last spring,
we got another good laugh out of it. The project was worth the memories. In my new book, Perfect Paige, the hero and
heroine are also complete opposites. At first, they can’t stand each other. But
when they find they have no choice but to work together to keep Paige’s
ex-husband out of jail, they learn they make a great team in more ways than
one. And because giving new life to old things is a favorite theme of mine, in
the end, the answers they’re looking for will be found with the help of ghosts
from the pasts and inside something old made new again.

Inés Saint was born in Zaragoza,
Spain. She’s bilingual and bicultural and has spent the last ten years raising
her fun, inspiring little boys and sharing her life with the man of her dreams,
who also happens to be her best friend and biggest cheerleader. Her greatest
joys are spending quality time with family and close friends.

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solely responsible for the giveaway prize.

Hello lovelies! It is with great sadness that I officially
report the death of my beloved cat, Adrina Renee Swanson. I have tried to write this post several times,
but every time I start to write, I can’t, I feel like if I actually say it, it
would be true. I still feel like she’s
just at sleep away camp or something and will be home any day now. But that’s not true. She won’t be coming home.

I didn’t think I’d ever actually get
this post written… Everyday seemed like
the wrong day to do it… I have been
hosting so many book tours and events and I didn’t want to put a dark cloud
over their happy day… When I woke up this morning, I had some clarity and it just felt
right… I knew today was the day to share
this post…

I don’t have much experience with
loss. Yes, that is technically a good
thing. I never thought I could feel this
much pain. This much hurt.

Tim and I adopted Adrina when we were
living in Medford. We had spent the day
playing with several cats at the shelter, but when I saw Adrina, I knew she was
the one. She was only a few months old
and was so tiny she fit in my hand.

I remember this one time, I had
brought her with me to work (I managed a Hilton hotel and often had to sleep on
site so I had a hotel room) and she got stuck in the hide-a-bed couch. I was so scared, I made Tim lift the
hide-a-bed up and I went under trying to pull her out. It took some work, but we were finally able
to get her out safely. I put pillows all
along the side of the hide-a-bed so she wouldn’t get back under, but she
certainly tried lol.

And I’ll never forget that long car
ride we had when we moved up to Portland.
Three hours of her crying and then thankfully an hour of silence. It was our longest car ride together – she
was not a fan of the open road lol. Even
though Tim and I didn’t work out, I got full custody of Adrina. Many towns and apartments later, it was still
just the two of us. Adrina was a very
independent cat. Everything was on her
terms. She would cuddle, but only when
she wanted, and only in the position she wanted. I admired how strong and brave she was.

Adrina was mostly an indoor
kitty. She lived indoors, but had
balcony privileges. She loved lying on
the balcony, watching the neighborhood, and sun tanning. I remember this one time when I bought her a
cat harness and leash and took her for a walk.
She was so smart she figured how to get out of it within seconds of
being outside. No matter how tight the
harness was she always figured how to get out of it. I have no idea how she did it. She was Houdini!

Unfortunately, when Adrina was five,
I had taken a job that at the time required me to live within minutes of it as
I had to work 12-18 hour days. This
meant I had to live downtown Portland on the Waterfront. I ended up in this beautiful three-story
condo, where many cast members from Grimm (TV Show) lived – even lived across from
Aunt Marie’s famous trailer lol. Sadly,
I wasn’t able to have Adrina there, as my roommate had a puppy. So I left Adrina with my mom. Adrina and my mom had always been close, so
both seemed happy to be together. After
my work days let up and I was able to move to a more affordable area, I got my
own apartment and made sure pets were allowed there. However, Adrina and my mom had grown to be best
friends and were inseparable. It felt
wrong to break them up. But I was lonely
in my apartment so I decided to adopt another kitten. That’s when Dolce came into my life. A little while down the road, my mom’s cancer
got worse, and I had to move in with her to take care of her. That meant moving Dolce into the apartment as
well. The apartment that Adrina
ruled. At first, Adrina scared Dolce and
it took a while for them to get along.
I’ve never had more than one cat in the household before. Having two complete opposites definitely
takes some work. But I’d like to think
the cats were happy and understood the situation.

Not long after Adrina turned eight in
June of last year she started getting sick.
She was having a hard time processing food and kept vomiting. We immediately took her to the vet and saw
Dr. Katie Krage at Willamette Valley Animal Hospital in Keizer. She was very nice and Adrina seemed to really
like her. She performed many tests and gave Adrina several meds. We actually spent four days of visits in just
one week. All the tests came back
negative or inconclusive. Dr. Krage
diagnosed Adrina with IBD – Irritable Bowel Disorder. She put Adrina on a very strict diet and
daily meds.

It took a few months, but it really
seemed like Adrina was doing better. So
much better that we actually started lowering her meds dosage. Adrina was still super active, running around
the house, playing in the tub, and laying out on the balcony. Adrina was a big eater – she would have given
Garfield a run for his food lol!! And
even with her illness, she was always ever so hungry. And with the steroids she became aggressive
when we were eating and would try everything she could to get ahold of
food. It got so bad, that we couldn’t
leave any food on the counters even if they were wrapped in plastic or in a box
– she would find a way to get into it lol.

Around Thanksgiving Adrina stopped
eating again. This wasn’t the first time
she stopped eating her wet food. Adrina
was very picky and hated her special prescription diet food. I figured it was just the same thing again
and she would eventually realize she wasn’t going to get anything else and
would just eat it. However, after three
days of pretty much no eating, and with her drastic weight loss I thought it
was best to take Adrina back to the vet.
In less than six months Adrina had gone from weighing 16.9 pounds to
only 8.9 pounds!!! That’s more than a
pound a month loss!!! And for a cat that
is a serious and significant amount of weight loss!!! I knew she was getting tiny, but her diet had
changed so drastically I knew that had some impact, but I thought she would be
okay.

When I took Adrina in on Thursday,
December 1st, Dr. Krage informed me that Adrina was super sick and
needed to be hospitalized. She said this
is very serious and there’s a strong chance Adrina could actually die. I was so shocked and I couldn’t believe
it. I figured she was just saying that
as like one of those general talks doctors tell you – like when you go in for a
routine surgery or such – you could die.
They have to say that. It’s
unlikely to happen, but there’s a small chance it could actually happen. So even though Dr. Krage was saying such
horrible things, I thought she didn’t really mean it. Unfortunately, Dr. Krage had to leave for
vacation and would be gone for a week. So
she passed our case on to another doctor there.

It was so weird returning home
without Adrina. I can’t imagine what
Dolce was thinking, even though I tried to explain it to her.

The next morning, Friday, I went to
the clinic right as they opened. They
brought Adrina out and she looked so much better! She was alert and seemed so happy to see
me! I spent an hour with her just
holding her, giving her tummy rubs, and kisses.
I left her so they could run more tests and so she could also get some
rest.

I went back to the clinic later that
night before they closed and spent some more time with her. Sadly, she didn’t look so good this
time. I found out that they hadn’t given
her her evening meds yet and that she still hadn’t eaten. They were supposed to force fed her, but
hadn’t even tried. I was crying so hard,
because I didn’t think they were taking very good care of her. It seemed more like it was on this new
doctor, but she would only have the case for that one day as she was also going
out of town.

On Saturday Adrina’s case was then
assigned to Dr. Hill, who is Dolce’s doctor.
Adrina was back in good hands.
Dr. Hill continued running tests and monitoring her. Dr. Hill agreed that although Adrina’s test
results were not great, she thought Adrina looked so alert and active. We really thought she had a chance of
bouncing back from this. Unfortunately,
Adrina still wasn’t eating and we decided to try one more time before we were
going to have to administer a feeding tube.
In the past I’ve had to give Dolce shots and for the past six months
I’ve been administering Adrina’s meds so I asked if I could try feeding her
with a syringe filled with wet food. Thankfully
they said yes! Dr. Hill and I were
successful in getting Adrina to eat and keep the food down. This was such great news!

My mom had been staying in The Dalles
for treatment (this is a whole another post lol) and so she’s been away from
Adrina since the beginning of October.
Since this might be the end it was important that my mom have some time
with Adrina. Sadly my mom can’t drive in
her condition and The Dalles is three hour drive each way!! Thankfully, my grandmother was able to drive
my mom out to Clackamas which cut the drive in half. So I quickly drove up to Clackamas, picked my
mom up, and drove us down to Keizer. My
mom was able to hold Adrina for a whole hour and just spend some quality time
cuddling. During this time Dr. Hill gave
me another syringe of food and I was able to get about half it in Adrina. Then I drove my mom and I back up to
Clackamas, dropped her off, and drove back to Keizer. I was on a serious time crunch because the
clinic was closing at 4pm. Dr. Hill
brought me another food syringe and I was able to get about half of it in
Adrina. All the food I had fed her
stayed down. This was even more great
news! She seemed to be doing
better. Unfortunately, this clinic
doesn’t have overnight care – the animals are just left in the cages and no one
is watching them. So if Adrina pulled
out her IV or the feeding tube we were going to have put in or died – no one
would be there to help her until they re-opened at 11am. That is 19 hours Adrina would be left
unattended!!! There was no way I could
do that to her. So I had her discharged
and took her to the Salem Veterinary Emergency Clinic that is open all night. I’ll never forget that look on her face when
they brought in her to-go carrier – she lit up!! She looked so happy to be going home!! It broke my heart telling her we weren’t actually
going home!!

This was my first experience with
Salem Veterinary Emergency Clinic, but I had heard good things and they
received great reviews. This hospital
provided full-time care and did rounds every 30 minutes checking on the
patients. I really felt like Adrina was
in good hands. While Adrina and I were
in the exam room waiting for the doctor she was so sluggish, she was wrapped in
warm towels, laying on the exam table, and she kept her head rested on my
hands. I was in the most uncomfortable
position, but it was worth it. She
looked so sweet resting on my hands. I
felt so close to her. Looking back I
know that was her way of saying goodbye.
I didn’t see it when I was there; I just thought she was exhausted after
the busy day. I was sad leaving her, but
with all the improvements and her eating I really thought she was going to beat
this. I kissed her goodbye and told her
I would be back at 10:30am to pick her up.
I went home and pretty much went to bed since I had to be up early.

At 4:12am the phone rang. I knew it wasn’t going to be good news, but I
was so asleep, I hadn’t processed anything.
They told me that they just went and checked on Adrina and she had
passed away in her sleep. They said it
was very peaceful. I think they must
have had to say that like five or six times, because I just didn’t comprehend
what they were saying. I told them I
would be right there. I called my mom
and told her. She was just as shocked
and sad as I was.

It took a little while, but I got
myself together and went down to the clinic.
I am glad that I was able to go and say goodbye and have some
closure. The only other cat I’ve lost
was K.T. and I was nine-years-old. Our
next door neighbor poisoned her for “fun.”
I knew she wasn’t feeling well, but I was young and didn’t
understand. My mom took her to the vet
while I was at school and they said she was in excruciating pain and was slowly
dying. So my mom let them put her
down. I was so angry at my mom for not
getting a chance to say goodbye. I was
young. That’s why I had to go see
Adrina. I couldn’t believe it. I had to actually see it. I have to admit she actually did look quite
peaceful. But she was just so
young. Cats don’t die at 8 anymore. Cats live to 20. I would have been okay with 14 or 16… Not 8!!
She was still just a baby. Now
I’m bouncing all around the stages of grief.
I’m definitely mostly sad and angry.
And I can’t stop playing the “what if” game. What if I took her to the vet earlier? What if I took her to a different vet? What if we did the feeding tube? And I can’t stop thinking about if I had just
brought her home. She really wanted to
come home. But I probably wouldn’t
forgive myself if she had died here and I wasn’t able to provide CPR or help
her. Plus I already feel guilty force
feeding her that last day. I am sure she
was mad at me for that.

I’ve slowly started trying to pick up
Adrina’s things. I threw out her
partially used wet food cans that were in the fridge and her meds. Some things will go to Dolce and some things
we’ll keep for her memorial area. We
decided to have her cremated with her favorite toy, an octopus that she used to
carry around and leave it in our rooms or beds to show her love, and have her
ashes returned to us. I think we’ll
build a little shrine for her. I thought
about taking her ashes up to the Falls maybe this summer. Adrina loved playing in the bathtub. We always had to keep the water dripping in
the tub so she could drink and play with the drops. It’s really pretty up there and it’s like one
giant bathtub always on and dripping. I
think she would have liked it.

I know it’ll get easier in time, but
right now it just hurts so much!!! I’m
trying to stay focused on the good things and remembering the happy times with
Adrina. Adrina was loved and I think for
the most part she was happy. I know the
last six months were a little difficult with the food situation and all the
meds, but hopefully she understood it was only because we wanted her to get
better. And I really don’t want her to
be hurting and in pain, but I just wasn’t ready to say goodbye. I’m trying to believe that there was a plan
and a reason for this. It’s not clear
right now, but maybe one day it will be.

Adrina was such a good kitty and I
know she is in Heaven. And I know that
one day I will see her again.

Saturday, April 29, 2017

Hey lovelies! So
you've probably been wondering what's with all the weird formatted posts this
last week or so... The formatting and quality of posts have been somewhat different
as my laptop broke :( It's been awful not having a computer!! I didn't realize
how much I use it and rely on it for like 90% of my workload and blogging
life... So yea I've been going crazy without it!! This was definitely an expense
I wasn't planning on and it couldn't have come at a worse financial time...

Thankfully, I was able to get some money together and just purchased a new
laptop!! Yay!! I just got it a few days ago and I am still working on catching
up on editing those posts and adding in the missing reviews!! Thank you for your support and understanding
during this difficult time!! I will continue to keep you updated :)

Hello lovelies! It gives me
great pleasure today to host Mark Nolan and his new book, “Dead Lawyers Don’t
Lie”!

Be sure to make it to the end
of this post to enter to win $20 PayPal Cash!!
Also, come back daily to interact with Mark and to increase your chances
of winning!

Thanks for stopping by! Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous
giveaway!

Dead Lawyers Don't Lie

Jake Wolfe Book 1

by Mark Nolan

Genre: Thriller, Crime Mystery

A
mysterious killer who calls himself The Artist is assassinating wealthy lawyers
in San Francisco. When war veteran Jake Wolfe accidentally takes his picture
during a murder, The Artist adds Jake to his kill list and he becomes a target
in a deadly game of cat and mouse that only one of them can survive. How far
would you go to protect your loved ones from a killer? Jake wants to leave his
top secret, violent past life behind him. But the reluctant, flawed hero can't
ignore his duty and his personal moral compass.

This gripping thriller is
full of suspense, plot twists and surprises. It features a cast of interesting
characters, including several strong-willed women, two wise-cracking San
Francisco Police Homicide Inspectors, one highly intelligent dog, and a
philosophical killer who shares Jake's admiration for Van Gogh paintings but
still plans to kill him anyway. As Jake gets closer to unraveling a merciless
conspiracy, his life gets turned upside down and the danger level increases,
adding to the growing suspense. This entertaining page-turner starts out as a
murder mystery and then shifts gears into a high-speed action thriller that
takes you on a roller-coaster ride to the riveting ending. A good read for
those who enjoy mysteries, suspense, action and adventure, vigilante justice,
unique characters, witty dialogue and a little romance too. Now on sale in over
a dozen countries around the world. Be the first among your friends to read it.

Mark Nolan began his writing career as a successful
entrepreneur who created news stories for businesses that were featured in The
Wall Street Journal, National Geographic, Parade, Reader's Digest and The
Associated Press. Nolan was born in San Francisco, grew up in the Bay Area of
California, and has also lived in the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii. He has
raised two great kids and one very smart retriever dog. Right now he's busy
writing the next book about Jake and Cody (Book 2), but he also tries to make
time every day to answer emails from readers. You can reach him at marknolan.com/contact.

**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase made I may receive a small commission to help support this blog. This does not cost you anything, it just
helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and
Brunette is a registered host of Silver Dagger Scriptorium. Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not
Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Silver Dagger Scriptorium are
solely responsible for the giveaway prize.

Friday, April 28, 2017

Hi lovelies! It gives me great
pleasure today to host Marie Johnston and her new book, “Bishop”! For other stops on her Goddess Fish
Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in
this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of
this post to enter to win a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with Marie
and to increase your chances of winning!

This book is on sale during the tour for ONLY $0.99!!! See below for more details.

Thanks for stopping by! Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous
giveaway!

Bishop

by Marie Johnston

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE: Paranormal Romance

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Fyra
is on the run. Permanently. Pursued by fellow underworld demons—and one very
angry vampire, she’s running out of options. After failing her last mission of
forcing vampire, Bishop, to give the demon world the information they want,
Fyra knows she’s as good as dead. Too bad she’s no good at hiding. Everywhere
she goes, fires break out. Her combustible personality is more than
annoying—it’s going to get her killed. Tracked by the random fires reported on
the news, her enemies can easily find her—unless Bishop can find her first.

Bishop
Laurent has to free himself of the bond Fyra tricked him into…and do it without
exposing his own icy secrets to anyone, especially his team. But after he
captures her, he sees past her fiery demeanor. Her knowledge of the underworld
would be a huge asset, a perfect reason to keep their bond intact. Only Fyra
overhears them and refusing to be a pawn, goes on the run again. Bishop has to
find her first, and this time, he must admit his real feelings for her…at least
to himself. Can he find her in time to save her life and make their bond last
forever? Or will they be killed fighting Hell with fire and ice?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT ONE:

Sirens
wailed, disrupting the silence of the night. Ahead of Bishop, an orange glow
carried through the moonless night. Must be a fire, a mile, maybe two, away.

Bishop
almost dismissed it until he remembered the seared plastic tape at the house.

His
demon was hot.

Pressing
on the accelerator, he aimed for the blaze. Firetrucks zoomed in front of him,
racing to the scene.

Bishop
stopped a block away, blending in with other late night rubberneckers. Smoke
rolled from a building. A gas station. And not a building, but a car parked at
the pumps was engulfed in flames. Did she really have to pick the most
dangerous place for open flame? If it was her. But his old friend, intuition,
curled through his gut like a tendril of smoke.

Yes.
It was her. He’d catch her and finish her. Cover his mistake before she
threatened his team. The dependable, calm Bishop had royally messed up. He’d
make it right. His friends had been through a lot and Bishop would mop up his
own mess and keep them protected, while protecting himself. He’d do it to honor
his mam.

Firemen
hopped out, but Bishop remained in his vehicle. Hoses were unraveled and they
battled the fire as people fled the premises but stayed within watching
proximity.

Bishop
scanned the crowd. His demon should be in her own form. Could she possess
another human without the help of the humans who would summon someone like her?
It was possible, but his pull to her was stronger, likely not from being muted
in a host. He had no clue what she looked like, but he studied the crowd closely.

His
bond didn’t ping, didn’t tighten his gut sensing her proximity. She wasn’t
among the spectators.

You
can’t hide from me, demon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR BIO:

Marie Johnstonlives
in the upper-Midwest with her husband, four kids, an old cat, and a young dog.
After trading in her lab coat for a laptop, she’s writing down all the tales
she’s been making up in her head for years. An avid reader of paranormal
romance, these are the stories hanging out and waiting to be told, between the
demands of work, home, and the endless chauffeuring that comes with children.

**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase made I may receive a small commission to help support this blog. This does not cost you anything, it just
helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**

This contest is sponsored
by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish
Promotions. Prizes are given away by the
sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish
Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.